


Valentine's Day

by mostlygayfluff



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Found Family, Getting Together, M/M, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:35:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29432526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mostlygayfluff/pseuds/mostlygayfluff
Summary: Evan Buckley has never spent Valentine’s Day alone, it’s something he promised himself a long time ago, that he’d never be alone that one day of the year. This year the pandemic, (and the fact that he’s single), threatens to ruin that.Not if Eddie Diaz can help it.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 199





	Valentine's Day

**Author's Note:**

> You’re sitting alone on Valentine’s Day scrolling through AO3 looking for fic to fill the void in your life? Don’t worry me too. This is pure fluff and I hope you enjoy it :)

Valentine’s Day has always been busy for Evan Buckley. He can’t remember spending a Valentine’s Day alone since the 7th grade when his date decided not to show up to the picnic he set up for her in the park that bright Saturday morning. Sometimes he thought about that day, and realized it was his first heartbreak. 

After that he always ensured he had someone to go out with on Valentine’s Day. Usually it was a girl from school, or someone he met in the days leading up to the holiday who agreed she didn’t want to be alone that year. It was never anything concrete, the relationships never lasted longer than a couple of days after the holiday, and Buck was fine with that. It was just about not being alone, even if only for one day. 

That all changed when he met Abby. She was the first committed relationship he ever had during a Valentine’s Day. They celebrated by going out to a fancy restaurant with all the other couples, keeping up appearances as a couple would. It was different with her, because he knew that he wouldn’t have to worry about her leaving him behind after tonight. He wouldn’t feel obligated to take her home, sleep with her, and expect a note on his pillow with regret the next morning. No matter how the night transpired, she would be there. 

Abby left him 3 months, 1 week and 5 days after Valentine’s day. This was technically a new record for Buck, but it hurt more than any of the others. Abby cared. Abby didn’t use him for sex. Abby enjoyed doing whatever he wanted to do. Abby listened. She was special, she was there, she loved–

–Well, he thought she loved him. As he watched her walk away into the airport he wondered if those feelings were ever reciprocated. 

He would never truly find out. 

* * *

This year he was celebrating Valentine’s Day as Buck 2.0, which meant no random hookups. Even if he had wanted to, he was a first responder in the middle of the pandemic, it wasn’t like he could go out and find someone willing to risk getting sick for him. For the first time in forever, Buck would spend Valentine’s Day alone. Maybe it would be good for him, it would humble him, knock his confidence down a few steps. Besides, these days his idea of love was contorted anyway. Overrated, he thought to himself. 

“Got any plans for tonight?” Eddie’s voice cut through his introspection. 

He couldn’t help the smile that came to his face, “I’ll probably go home, crack open a beer, and watch some cheesy rom coms.” Buck was the first man to admit that he _loved_ watching romantic movies. 

“Really?” Eddie sounded suspicious, “No date?” He shuffled the cards and started dealing them back out to Hen and Chim, who were playing gin rummy with him before he brought Buck into the conversation. 

“Don’t you have a thing?” Hen couldn’t quite place what she was thinking of, “Some pact?” 

“Yeah,” Chim sat forward, scanning his cards without missing a beat, “He never spends Valentine’s Day alone, it’s a thing.”

Great. Of course he’d told them. It was probably something he boasted about at one point in his life, filling his best friends in on his romantic entanglements as they came by the dozens. 

“Well this year I am by myself, like it or not,” Buck said, trying to ignore the incredulous look Chim gave him, “Besides, where am I gonna find concrete plans during a pandemic? Restaurants aren’t open to the public, and the ones that are are practically breeding grounds for virus activity.” 

Hen and Chim both nodded, neither of them could argue with that. They were both engrossed in the game, going through the motions, but Eddie not so much. He was looking off to the side, just next to where Buck was sitting, as if he was tossing an idea around in his head, debating internally. 

Buck looked back down to the book he had been attempting to read, something Athena gave him as a gift at Christmas. 

“Why don’t you come over tonight?” Buck’s heart nearly stopped, trying to figure out the implications of that statement. His eyes met Eddie’s, and they were full of… hope? 

Hen and Chim both looked up from their cards, silence filled the air. 

“You can celebrate with Chris and I,” Eddie finished his question, almost as if he’d lost his thought process entirely before. “That way, you won’t be breaking your ‘pact,’ and we could make a night of it, drink some beers, watch some movies with Chris, order a pizza–”

Eddie was selling this with more effort than he’d used any of the other times he’d invited Buck over. He didn’t need to, either, he would’ve said yes regardless. While he was desperate, though, Buck figured he’d lay out his terms and conditions. 

“I’ll be there, under two conditions.” Eddie leaned forward, listening intently.

“First, if we’re doing this right, we’re not ordering pizza, I’m cooking,” Buck started, “I have all the ingredients for Chris’ favorite, and I’ll come over early and start it.”

At this point Eddie had long forgotten about the card game, and was grinning ear to ear as Buck continued his terms. 

“Second of all, I know Chris is gonna want to watch that _Trolls_ movie, but we have to watch at least one rom com after he goes to bed.” 

“Easy enough, which movie?” 

“I’ll be bringing _Love_ _Actually_.” 

“ _Love_ _Actually_?” Eddie looked outraged, “That’s a Christmas movie! We can’t watch that on _Valentine’s Day!”_

Buck tsked, “ _Love_ _Actually_ is a timeless romance movie, to be enjoyed at any time of year, especially Valentine's Day.” 

“Agree to disagree,” Eddie said flippantly, hints of sarcasm in his tone as he could barely hold it together. 

“I have to agree with Eduardo on this one,” Chim spoke up, and for the first time in minutes Buck remembered they weren’t alone in the station, “ _Love_ _Actually_ is in fact, a Christmas movie.” 

Hen threw her cards down onto the table, accepting the fact they weren’t going to finish the game. “I’m with Buck,” Chim looked at her like she had betrayed him, “ _Love_ _Actually_ is a movie for any holiday, and a hell of a good one too.” 

Eddie shook his head, throwing his own cards down. Right before he was about to protest once more, the alarm sounded and they all jumped up to head to their call. 

Buck couldn’t help but smile. He wasn’t going to be alone on Valentine’s Day. 

* * *

That night he showed up early as he’d promised, and when the door swung open, Christopher was there to greet him. 

“Happy Valentine’s Day Bucky!” The boy stepped forward, reaching his arms out for a hug. 

Buck picked the boy up, pulling him into an embrace and spinning him around in the air. There was no one he would rather spend time with, Chris would always be his first choice. 

When he placed the boy down, Chris handed him what looked like a handmade card. 

“You made this for me?” He asked innocently, holding it out in front of him and inspecting it playfully. 

“Yes!” Christopher giggled. 

There was a huge heart, drawn masterfully in red crayon outlined on pink construction paper. Inside the heart there were the words ‘Happy Valentine’s Day Buck!’ And Chris’s handwriting was definitely getting better because Buck could read it with ease

“This is clearly artwork done by a professional,” he continued to muse, finally opening it after inspecting the front for an extra few seconds.

When he opened the card, he saw a drawing much improved from the last card he’d received from the boy. It was clear that Chris was a budding artist, and he obviously loved doing it, because Buck received drawings for every occasion. 

This one, however, was a little different. 

At the top were the words ‘Our Family,’ the gesture made Buck’s heart swell to almost double its size. He would never get over the idea that Chris considered him part of the family. His eyes traveled down the page, as there was in every drawing, there were three figures to represent Chris, Eddie, and himself, each labeled appropriately. Except underneath the little figure meant to be him, the words ‘Dad Buck.’ 

In that moment, Buck’s world stopped. He looked from the beautiful drawing, over to the child who waited to hear from him anxiously. 

He didn’t know what to say, but without thinking he closed the card and put it neatly down on the table, pulling Chris into his arms and holding him tightly. Once he was out of the boy’s sight, tears rolled down his face. Not only did Chris see him as family, he saw him as a second father. Buck wasn’t sure what he’d done in his life up to this point to be so lucky, but he knew he did something right. 

“Do you like my card?” Christopher asked sheepishly, still in Buck’s arms but leaning back to look him in the face. 

Buck smiled, “I love the card, and I love you.”

“Why are you crying?” The boy’s brow furrowed when he saw the tears. It took him a moment to connect the tears with the man’s beaming smile. “Happy tears?” 

“Very happy tears,” Buck confirmed, holding him close once more before placing him back on the ground. He took the card from the table and slipped it in his inner coat pocket, so that it was situated right up against his heart. 

He cleared his throat, “Now, let’s start this spaghetti!” 

“Spaghetti!” Chris exclaimed, reaching over to the bag and grabbing the box out as Buck went and brought a pot of water to boil. They worked effectively together, Chris couldn’t man the can opener, but he took great joy in handing Buck the cans of tomato purée to open and throw into a separate pot for the sauce. 

Something about cooking always healed Buck. Whether physically or mentally, he always felt better when he was making a meal, especially if he was doing it with someone he loved. He stole a quick glance over to Chris, who was sorting through all the spices and reading them off to Buck as he handed them over. With each one, Buck would stop to explain the flavor they added and why they needed them. He hoped he could pass his love for cooking down to Christopher, and that his passion would outweigh Eddie’s horrendous kitchen skills. 

As soon as he thought of the man, he appeared. He was dressed sharply, a grey dress shirt with two of the button’s popped, French tucked into his black slacks, topped off with a black belt, and fancy dress shoes. 

Buck looked down at his jeans and socked feet, feeling suddenly under dressed. “Well hello to you too, I wasn’t aware tonight had a dress code,” he poked fun at the man. 

Eddie’s face flushed red, looking down at his own dress shoes, “It’s just, it’s Valentine’s Day.” He was stumbling over his own words, something Buck had never witnessed. “I can go change it you’d be more comfortable–“

“–Relax Eds, I was just joking,” Buck reassured him, looking up from where he was stirring the sauce, “besides, you look fantastic.” 

He looked long enough to see Eddie blush even harder and shift on his feet, before looking back down into the sauce pot. 

“Daddy, you look even redder than the tomatoes!” Christopher exclaimed gleefully, holding one up as if to compare it to his father’s complexion. 

Eddie stepped forward and leaned down onto the table next to him, “Really? Let’s see how this sauce is coming along?” He walked over to where Buck had just finished seasoning the sauce. He grabbed a small spoon from the counter, dipping it into the pot and taking a taste. He closed his eyes for a moment, savoring it. 

“So, what do you think?” Buck asked genuinely after a moment, “Did Chris and I do a good job?” 

“A magnificent job,” Eddie opened his eyes and placed the spoon in the sink. “My compliments to the chefs!” This last comment sent Christopher into another giggling fit, causing Eddie to walk over and hug him from behind and plant a kiss on the crown of his head. 

Buck reached for the three plates he laid out on the counter, spooning some pasta into the first, and then the meat sauce on top. He placed that one down and moved to the next, but just as he did it slipped out of his grasp. He called out, and just when he was sure it would hit the floor, Eddie swooped in and caught it. 

“Nice reflexes,” Buck complimented with a smirk, “And not a drop of sauce on that fancy shirt.” 

Eddie placed the plate full of pasta safely down on the counter, brushing his hands off. “What can I say? Maybe I’m just a natural sous chef.” He flashed a smile at Buck, and the man instantly knew he would give anything to have Eddie as his sous chef for the rest of his life. 

They worked together filling the next plate and garnishing all of them while Christopher set the table with the proper cups and utensils. Once the plates were set down, Eddie got to work pouring the two glasses of wine, and one glass of grape juice. 

It was perfect. A collaborative effort. A _family_ project. Buck could get used to that idea. 

While they ate, Christopher happily chatted away about school and the book he was currently reading. It was Tom Sawyer, and the idea of the boy’s being pirates was outlandish to Chris, but still rather engaging. It warmed Buck’s heart that the boy had so quickly grown from begging him to read a bedtime story each night, to now reading books on his own. Buck stole a glance at Eddie while Chris was still excitedly describing the chapter he was reading, and found that Eddie was glancing right back at him. They smiled at each other, and Eddie lifted his glass in Buck’s direction as if to say ‘ _here’s to you.’_

He wasn’t sure what it meant, but the smile that came to his face as a result was one that lasted all of dinner. 

When they finished eating Chris moved into the living room to choose a movie and Buck piled all the dishes into the sink. He gave them a quick rinse, planning to place them immediately into the dishwasher along with all of the pots and utensils he used to make the spaghetti. 

“Buck, you don’t have to cook and do the dishes,” Eddie reasoned, rolling up his sleeves and coming to stand next to him, “Please, let me do something.” 

“Fine,” he said, gesturing to the half opened dishwasher, “You can help.” He passed off the plates he rinsed to Eddie, who placed them in the dishwasher, positioning every plate and pan and pot so that they fit perfectly like a Tetris game. He really made it look easy for a man who never did any cooking, and by proxy, dishes, of his own. 

“I picked a movie!” Chris yelled from the living room, and the two men exchanged glances as they dried their hands and went to meet him. 

As Buck suspected earlier, Christopher chose the _Trolls_ movie, and quickly popped it into the DVD player for them to begin watching. Buck sat to the left of Christopher, Eddie finding his normal position to the right of him. They fell into the same comfortable pattern they’d learned by muscle memory. By now Buck was sure he could recite this movie word for word, but it didn’t matter to him. At the end of the day it didn’t matter if they watched this movie for the rest of their lives, as long as he was with Christopher and Eddie, he would watch anything. 

Around the same part of the movie he usually got sleepy, Christopher leaned his head onto Buck’s shoulder, his eyes fluttering as he struggled to stay awake. Buck wrapped his arm around the back of the couch behind Christopher, allowing the boy to fall into him and use his chest as a pillow. He looked down at Chris, noticing immediately when his breathing regulated and he was fully asleep. A sudden squeeze of his hand caused him to glance back up. Eddie grabbed his hand from where it was precariously positioned behind Chris on the back of the couch, their fingers locking and eyes meeting as the end credits rolled. 

Buck wasn’t sure what this meant, or what to do, so he sat frozen in place for another ten minutes just watching Eddie and enjoying the feeling of their fingers interlocked, and the pressure of Christopher asleep in his arms. 

_I’m in love with the Diaz family._ He thought to himself, as if the thought didn’t run wildly through his mind every day. _I’m part of the Diaz family?_ He wondered if this is what being family meant, the word ‘Dad’ written before his name in the most recent Christopher card, and hopefully all the ones to come after that. Coming over to cook dinner, teaching Chris about spices and flavors, stopping Eddie from burning down the kitchen, rewatching the same movie every weekend, playing video games and watching his opponent get better every time they played to the point he no longer had to let him win. Eddie looking at him like that, Eddie holding his hand as his son fell asleep in Buck’s arms. If this is what being a member of the Diaz family meant, he never wanted to leave. 

_“We should probably get him to bed,”_ Eddie whispered after several minutes of quiet hand holding and stolen glances. 

Buck nodded, regretfully letting go of Eddie’s hand and sweeping his grasp under Christopher’s legs so he could carry him off to his room and tuck him in. Eddie was not far behind, and as Buck placed the boy down, he reached to tuck his son in and fasten the blanket around him. Buck reached forward and took off the boy’s glasses, folding them and placing them on the bedside table. Eddie turned on the nightlight and leaned down, placing one last kiss on his forehead. 

_“Goodnight Chris,”_

_“Goodnight Mijo,”_

Buck stepped out first, and Eddie closed the door softly, leaving it open a crack so that they would be able to hear in the event of any nightmares. 

As soon as they were down the hallway, Eddie headed for the kitchen and grabbed two beers out of the refrigerator. He slid one over the counter to Buck, who popped it open with the opener conveniently placed on the drawer next to him. He slid the opener back to Eddie, waiting for the man to pop the top off before leaning forward. 

They clinked bottles together,

“To Valentine’s Day,” Eddie proposed.

“To Valentine’s Day,” Buck reaffirmed with a nod, taking a swig of the beer. 

They moved to the couch with their drinks and sat and drank in silence for a few moments. Neither man was sure what to say or do. Eddie looked extremely deep in his own thoughts, and to Buck, it didn’t seem like the right time to whip out his _Love Actually_ DVD he had stowed away in his bag.

“Was it everything you hoped it would be?” Eddie asked finally, clearly this was the thought that was bothering him so deeply. 

“What?” Buck questioned, “You mean today? Dinner?” 

Eddie nodded, taking another swig of his beer and placing it down on a coaster. “Valentine’s Day,” he said more specifically. 

“Oh of course,” Buck confirmed, “Any day I get to spend with you and Christopher is automatically perfect.” He reassured the man, who still didn’t look convinced. 

“Good,” Eddie confirmed once more, “I wanted it to be perfect.” 

“Is that what this was all about?” Buck asked finally, non-discreetly looking the man up and down, “The dressing up and the sous chef lines, this was all about making sure I had the _perfect_ Valentine's Day?” 

“Yeah, I mean Chim and Hen told me all about how you had that pact to never spend this day alone, how you always had big plans. And when I heard you didn’t have any this year, I wanted to make it special for you, but Chris and I are hardly what you’d call big plans.” 

“Eddie, are you kidding?” Buck placed his own beer down on the table, leaning forward towards the man, “Today was amazing, today was the best Valentine’s Day of my life.” 

“Really?” He didn’t sound convinced. 

“Yes, really,” Buck reached in his pocket and pulled out the card Chris gave him, handing it to Eddie. “I got to spend it with my _family_ , the people I love.” 

Tears welled in Eddie’s eyes as he looked from the card back up to Buck, “He made this?” He looked towards Chris’ room, his eyes full of light and _happy tears._

Buck nodded, “Eddie, I have always considered you two my family, Chris is like a son to me, and before today I didn’t know the feeling was mutual.” He took the card back from Eddie, folding it back into his pocket.

“And you, Eddie I love you.” He paused, not fully aware how the words had slipped out so naturally, calmly like he didn’t feel he was going to be sick with every second that passed. “And I still don’t know if _this_ feeling is mutual, but if it’s not, that doesn’t change anything.” 

“And if it is?”

The man felt like he would faint. 

“If it is, things still don’t really change.” Buck shrugged, thinking about how often he spent time with the Diaz family already, the key that had a permanent spot on his key ring, the countless games won and movies watched, the meals cooked, the stories read. “Except maybe we would kiss more, ideally more hand holding, maybe I could get more than one drawer for my clothes.” 

Buck realized he was nervously rambling, he looked into Eddie’s face and found nothing but pure, unfiltered love. 

“You know,” he said softly, his eyes falling to Eddie’s lips, “just some small changes.” 

Eddie nodded, biting his lip as he leaned forward, his forehead touching Buck’s, “I think that can be arranged,” he said, feigning innocence before he took Buck’s lips into his own. 

The kiss was everything Buck imagined it would be, and he had imagined it many times over. Eddie’s lips were soft, the rough scratch of his stubble drew Buck in even further to the embrace and set his senses on fire. When Eddie finally reached around and pulled Buck into his lap, the man felt completely surrounded with warmth and love. All of the unspoken words, the stolen glances, the passion held between them, culminated into this one moment Buck would never forget for as long as he lived. 

After several minutes of heated embrace that eventually dissipated into slow, lazy kisses, Buck moved away from Eddie, leaving him with a curious look on his face. He reached down to the bag below them and grabbed his _Love Actually_ DVD, flashing it like a prize to the man expectantly waiting for him on the couch. 

Eddie grabbed it from him with a chuckle, “I love you Evan Buckley.” 

“I love you too, Eddie Diaz,” his boyfriend grabbed his hand and kissed it gently. “Now go put in my movie.”

“Anything for you.” 

* * *

Valentine’s Day has always been busy for Evan Buckley. He can’t remember spending a Valentine’s Day alone since the 7th grade when his date decided not to show up to the picnic he set up for her in the park that bright Saturday morning. Sometimes he thought about that day, and realized she was his first heartbreak. Sometimes he looked back and thought about the day he watched Abby walk away, and realized she was his last heartbreak. 

Eddie Diaz walked into his life 3 months, 1 week and 6 days after Valentine’s Day. Eddie had his back. Eddie cared. Eddie didn’t use him for sex. Eddie enjoyed doing whatever he wanted to do, (despite his questionable movie choices). Eddie listened. 

_Eddie loved him._ That he knew for certain. 

Most importantly, Eddie never walked away, and Buck was never alone on a Valentine's Day ever again. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and Kudos appreciated :)


End file.
